How Lupita Nyong'o got the role of Trevor Noah's mom in upcoming movie

Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o dropped by The Daily Show, where she and Trevor Noah talked about a special role for the Oscar-winning actress: playing Noah’s mother, Patricia, in a screen adaptation of his bestselling autobiography, Born a Crime. In it, Noah discusses growing up as a mixed-race child in South Africa during apartheid, when even interracial dating was illegal.

On Wednesday, Nyong’o made the announcement via Twitter, and on Thursday, she talked about how it came about.

Nyong’o said, “I was on the set of Black Panther, and I got the book. I pre-ordered it, got it, I read it, and I sent you an email, and I said, ‘Trevor, please, would you do me the honor of letting me play your mother?’”

Despite being an Oscar winner and starring in some of the biggest films in recent memory, including two Star Wars movies and Black Panther, Nyong’o had to prove herself to Noah. At first, he wasn’t sure it would work out.

“And then she sent me a pic of her muscles and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s my mom. Yeah, that’s my mom. That’s my mom. You can do it,’” Noah said.